ATM Processor Hacked, Threatened With Extortion

MADISON, Wis. – A U.S. based ATM processor has been hacked and is facing extortion from the perpetrators. “Apparently a third-party ATM processor had part of their database hacked into. The individuals who obtained the information are now trying to extort the processor,” said Vince Wagner, risk management specialist in CUNA Mutual’s Protection Division. The perpetrators are threatening to publish consumers’ personal financial information or use it to defraud consumers if the processor doesn’t pay up. “It appears the compromised information is being used offshore,” said Wagner, in countries such as Hong Kong, Italy, Australia, Great Britain and others. Wagner said he was unsure how many credit unions were affected. He said affected CUs will be notified by their card processors if their members’ information was compromised. What can credit unions do to protect their members? Wagner said in the extreme case they can block card accounts and issue new cards. Credit unions should also be monitoring their neural network for fraudulent activity, especially if the neural network has the capability to monitor those account numbers that may have been compromised. CUNA Mutual bond policyholders can log on to the CUNA Mutual site (www.cunamutual.com) to get loss prevention recommendations.